It has taken sixteen years for someone to finally adapt Nick Cave’s dark 2009 novel The Death Of Bunny Munro for television, and it seems Cave is delighted that it has happened. When he met Matt Smith, the gothic post punk legend praised the actor with a smooth purr in that unmistakable Australian drawl: “Finally, someone has had the balls to tell this unholy tale…”
Set near Cave’s own home in the Brighton area, The Death Of Bunny Munro follows its troubled main character as he carries out his grim, morally rotten work. Bunny’s life is driven by obsessions with sex, alcohol and a constant urge to behave like an all around terrible person. His long list of failings includes cheating on his wife Libby (Sarah Greene), who struggles with her mental health, and showing little care for their kind young son Bunny Jr. (Rafael Mathé). When Libby finally reaches her breaking point and takes her own life by hanging herself from the curtains, Bunny can no longer hide from the reality he has created. Is there any chance that he can become the caring father he never experienced himself?
If we are being completely honest, the answer to that question is no. Even so, the six part series is a treat to watch for its loaded, ‘90s loving soundtrack alone, along with the gentle and reflective score by Cave and Warren Ellis. Smith even found himself getting involved, suggesting songs and moments for needle drops that came straight from his own music filled mind. Keep reading for a close look at the Northampton born actor’s early life as a stylish head boy who also spent time as a trance DJ and a devoted Oasis fan.
“I’m not sure exactly. In this country, he’s sort of woven into the fabric [of things]. He’s in the [public] consciousness for so many different reasons. I’ve had so many ports of call with Nick Cave over the years, things that I’ve become attached to.”
“Younger. I mean, I’m 43 now, unbelievably. God, help me. When did that happen? Tuesday, it turns out. My birthday was on Tuesday.”
“That’s one of my badges. I’m really into being a Scorpio. Don’t cross us.”
“I got an email through the inbox. You know, ‘Death Of Bunny Munro: Nick Cave’. You have my attention! But just before then I’d watched the documentary about him called 20,000 Days On Earth and it was fucking brilliant. He talks about the process of writing in it. He says: ‘Writing’s easy. You just make a character do one thing after another.’ And it’s fucking true man!”
“We went for breakfast. I don’t know if you’ve ever met Nick, but he’s a pretty vivid image. He’s really tall, really angular and immaculately dressed. Almost intimidating – and I was sat there having breakfast with him and he’s having a boiled egg and soldiers!”
“At that point, I hadn’t read the book. I’d only read the pilot script. He said: ‘I think you should read the book, man.’ So I read it on holiday really quickly and then I listened to the audiobook a lot when I was preparing because he narrates it really well and I wanted to get Nick Cave in my head a bit.”
“‘A Forest’ by The Cure. They played it for me through a speaker on the shoot at night time. It’s when Bunny is driving into the trees. And there’s a little touch of Kylie Minogue when he’s leaving the funeral, because in the book that’s really prevalent. The ‘90s was such an important period for me, musically. Sometimes I look around now and I’m like: ‘Where are those fucking bands, man?!’”
“Well, I got quite into fashion labels – Moschino this, Ralph Lauren logos everywhere. I was always in River Island and then I’d go and buy a pair of Armani jeans… Patrick Cox shoes. And, obviously, I’ve always worn Reebok Classics. I still only wear Reebok Classics for trainers.”
“Yeah, I went to eight of them!”
“I did Cardiff, Wembley, Wembley, Wembley, Wembley, Wembley… I love Oasis. It was blow-your-ears-off, blow-your-socks-off good. What’s amazing about that tour is the shit they’ve left out. ‘Columbia’, ‘She’s Electric’ – and that’s not even getting on to the later albums. Bangers. Just when you think [it’s slowing down], they go: ‘Here’s ‘Slide Away’.”
“‘Little By Little’ goes mad! ‘Half The World Away’ goes fucking off the chain! And that’s before they’ve even got to fucking ‘Wonderwall’, ‘Champagne Supernova’. I just think culturally, as a country, we needed it. When was the last time we all got together and went ‘fucking come on’ across different generations?”
“I was really into rap. Nas’ ‘Illmatic’ is one of my favourite albums. And then Biggie, those first two albums. I was really into that whole East Coast vs West Coast battle.”
“Yeah. I had the fucking keys to the castle because I had the fund, right? And the teacher goes, ‘So, usually we do a yearbook.’ And I went, ‘Woah, I’m gonna stop you there. We’re gonna throw a real big party and, by the way, I’ll be DJing!’”
“The sixth formers would come up and go, ‘Matt, can you play something we know?’ ‘…No.’”
“‘For An Angel’ by Paul Van Dyk, all random trance or house tunes. It was ‘no requests’. You can have the decks when it’s right.”
“I saw Arcade Fire in Chicago with my then girlfriend. We were staying in a hotel and there was this big silver bus outside. I was like, ‘That’s got to be a band.’ And as luck would have it, this woman came out and said: ‘Oh hey, did you used to be in Doctor Who? This is Arcade Fire, do you wanna come and see them? They’re doing this thing at the end of the gig where you can put a bobblehead on and be on stage.’ Obviously, I said yes. It was amazing. I changed all my plans and drove from Chicago to Toronto and did exactly the same thing at their next gig too.”
‘The Death of Bunny Munro’ is available on Sky and streaming service NOW
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity
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